Redemption

Chapter Eleven

                Once alone, Niki took the device from her pocket and switched it on. It basically operated like a phone, however, it could only have a limited amount of numbers programmed into it. The one she had only had three buttons. Not sure which one to press, she went with the first one, a green button. It rang for about ten seconds before a click let Niki know someone was on the other line. She waited for someone to speak, but when no one did, she realized she was going to have to make the first move.

                “Hello?” she asked, hoping there really was someone on the other end.

                “Niki, good,” Barton said. “I had to make sure no one else found this. Did Riley lay out a plan for you yet?”

                “Yeah,” she said. “He wants everyone up at two and we’ll leave within the hour. We’ve got the rest of the day to ourselves.”

                “All right,” Barton said. “Some of the other captains refused you as a leader, but I thought Riley would make a plan immediately, which is why I put my support behind him. Now this next part, Niki, this is the dangerous part.”

                “Yeah?” That didn’t sound good. Barton wasn’t one to over exaggerate. If he said it was dangerous, he really meant it.

                “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. Or anything you feel is wrong. But whatever you do, keep in mind that I can’t protect you. You’ll have to accept the consequences of whatever action you choose to take.”

                It definitely wasn’t going to be good news. If Barton felt the need to stress that, Niki knew that something big was going to happen. Or already did.

                “Kimberella and I discovered that at least some of the other members of your team have been given instruction to kill Darius rather than capture. My recommendation is for you to get to Darius first and prevent the others from following if you can. I don’t think I’ll be able to offer much else help. It won’t be long before I’m under close observation. If you do go it alone, I don’t think capture will be an option, so convince him to go with you. He’ll have his reservations, but I can keep him safe.

                “Remember Niki, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. It’s only a suggestion but if you’re asked, it didn’t come from me and I have not contacted you privately. I got to go. Good luck.”

                There was a click and Niki was alone in the woods. The situation really was as bad as Niki anticipated. Maybe worse. Now, she was on her own. Except for Garm, who was now the only one she could trust.

                “I don’t know if I can do this,” she admitted to the wolf. She sat down on the ground and put her arms around him, burying her face into his gray fur. “I don’t have a choice though.”

                She sat there for a while, the sound of Garm breathing comforting her. At least she wouldn’t be completely alone. Garm was with her. Even though Barton said she didn’t have to do it, Niki knew that she did. She couldn’t let her best friend be killed. Especially not while she stood by trying to figure out just who it was that had received special orders.

                Niki went to bed very early that afternoon, and woke up at ten thirty at night. She hoped none of the regular staff at Red Hill were still up, or if they were, they wouldn’t think to question her. She and Garm silently left just as they had the previous night, but now, Niki had a goal in mind besides wasting time lounging around.

                She made her way to the closet where the supplies were being stored and quickly put her power suit on and her regular work clothes. Once she was dressed, she removed all the power packs from the other suits. She was tempted to crush them and leave them there for the others to find when they woke up, but she knew she would buy herself a little extra time if she didn’t do that. Instead she loaded them into a bag and took them with her.

                Each member of the team had their own plane which they would fly into an area much closer to New York City. They were stealth planes, and they’d be difficult to detect, especially at night. But Niki had to make sure those planes never got off the ground. While it wouldn’t stop the others, it would certainly take longer for them to get to Darius. She went to each plane and removed critical hardware from each.

                She felt horrible about what she was doing, because even though Barton had told her to do it, they were not official orders. In a sense, she knew she was betraying the Anitreh. But she had to betray either the organization or her closest friend, and looking at it like that, the decision was simple. Still, it didn’t stop the tears from flowing as she sat in the cockpit of the only remaining functional aircraft.

                Garm was as secure as he could be in the rear seat. While some Anitreh aircraft were designed with fylgja in mind, these ones were not. The larger fylgja were not going to be accompanying them on the mission, since they would be a dead giveaway. But Niki had made some major changes to the plans. Because of what she was doing, there was no way she was going in alone and leaving Garm behind was not an option. He’d basically be a prisoner of the Anitreh.

                She started up her plane and took off. She looked down at the ground as she gained altitude, realizing that she very likely would no longer be considered an Anitreh and most likely, she would be called an enemy.